Jeremiah Paulson

Class of 2014

1^st Baseman

Augusta Athletics 1993-2006

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Jeremiah Paulson’s 14 season tear through the CRBL was marked by booming homeruns, searing line drives, shell shocked opponents, and skittish pitchers.  Historically, the Augusta legend can unequivocally be viewed as one of the greatest players the Chippewa River Baseball League will ever have.

The 1993 addition of “Miah” to Augusta’s roster elevated the A’s line-up to a combustible level.  Hitting .406 with 4 doubles and 1 home run in 10 games, Paulson helped propel Augusta to their second straight South Division title and CRBL crown before losing 9-5 to Abbotsford in the WBA championship game.

In 1994, Paulson became a CRBL immortal when he won the hitter’s Triple Crown, batting .527 (29/59) with 11 homers and 30 RBI’s.  In doing so, Jeremiah became only the 6^th player in CRBL history to accomplish the feat.  His 11 long balls also set a single-season record in that category that has since been equaled twice (Dusty Freitag in 1996 and Todd Lasher in 2012).  The Ruthian performance was the pillar of Augusta’s march to another South Division title and capturing of the WBA championship with an 8-4 victory vs. the Whittlesey Reds in the title bout.  It was the CRBL’s first WBA crown for a CRBL team since the 1953 Thorp Cardinals.

Paulson came back in 1995 to win another batting title with a .483 average while tying for the CRBL lead in hits with 28 in 58 at-bats.  Accentuated by his 8 long balls and 23 RBI’s, Miah’s presence again played an irreplaceable role in the A’s winning a fourth consecutive South Division title and the franchise’s third CRBL title belt.

One of only three players in league history to hit 4 home runs in a game, Paulson accomplished the feat on July 17, 1994 in Augusta’s 37 to 9 thumping of the Cadott Red Sox at Cadott.  In the same game, Jeremiah also had 6 hits, putting him in another exclusive club numbering only 13 CRBL hitters.

1995 was also the year Jeremiah gained national acclaim when as a junior at Northwest Missouri State he was featured in “Faces in the Crowd” of Sports Illustrated.  In the May 8, 1995 issue, Paulson was highlighted for his homerun barrage in a doubleheader vs. Southwest Baptist.  In the two games, he was 4 for 8 with 4 homeruns and 11 RBI’s.  In game number two, Paulson hit a homer in three consecutive at-bats, including a grand slam and 3-run home run in one inning.

From 1996 to 1998, the Big Lefty played intermittently for the Athletics as he became a full-timer for the Eau Claire Cavaliers.  Yet, in playing only 12 CRBL games in 1998 Paulson still managed to lead the league with 9 big flies.

In 2000, Miah returned to the CRBL full force, hitting .415 (27 for 65) while tying for the circuit lead with 10 home runs and pacing the circuit outright with 34 runs scored in 18 games.

The CRBL’s switch to wood bats in 2001 had little effect on Paulson’s offensive propensity.  Over his last six season’s in the CRBL, Miah averaged 5 home runs, 24 hits, 18 RBI’s, 16 runs scored, and an accumulative batting average of .414 (146 for 353).  For his entire 193 game CRBL career, he finished with per game averages of 1.19 RBI’s and 1.45 hits.

During his 14 league campaigns, Miah tied or led the league in offensive categories 17 times: once in runs scored (34 in 2000), twice in hits (28 in 1995 and 23 in 2001), twice in RBI’s (30 in 1994 and 20 in 2002), twice in walks (19 in 2003 and 19 in 2005), three times in batting average (.527 in 1994, .483 in 1995, and .468 in 2002), as well as a league record seven times in home runs (11 in 1994, 9 in 1998, 10 in 2000, 4 in 2001, 5 in 2002, 8 in 2004, and 5 in 2005).

A participant in five All-Star games, Paulson was named the game’s MVP in the 2000 contest hosted by Jim Falls.  In his standout performance, he was 3 for 4 with 5 RBI’s and hit a go ahead grand slam in the seventh inning that was the deciding margin in the South’s 8-4 win over the North.

Accordingly, the left-handed smasher was named All-CRBL seven times (1994, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006), good for 7^th all-time in the award’s existence.  Moreover, in two seasons (2001 and 2003) Jeremiah was named Honorable Mention All-CRBL.

Paulson departed from the CRBL gallery after the 2006 season, moving to the western part of the WBA map.  Starting in 2007, Miah began playing for the Ellsworth Hubbers of the St. Croix Valley League where he still continues to mercilessly destroy the offerings of opposing pitchers.

Upon induction, Paulson’s embedded all-time CRBL rankings include the prestigious top spots in both batting average and slugging percentage.  His additional high ranks can be found in home runs (2^nd), total bases (8^th), RBI’s (tied for 13^th), runs scored (19^th), doubles (20^th), walks (tied for 25^th), and hits (30^th).